Navigation

Officer arrested for moving marijuana in Jacksonville

A Jacksonville Sheriff’s Office police officer has been arrested on pot charges in Duval County. According to a report in the Florida Times Union, Maurice Boykins was a corrections officer at the Duval County Pretrial Detention Facility. He has been accused of selling marijuana in Jacksonville to an inmate. The actual charge he was arrested for is Unlawful Compensation or Reward for Official Behavior, which is a second degree felony in Jacksonville. If convicted of this Duval felony, Boykins is facing up to fifteen years in prison.

An inmate in the Jacksonville jail told police Boykins was delivering marijuana to him. The inmate told investigators that he has been in jail for over three years and was befriended by the corrections officer. He further alleges that Boykins asked him if he smoked marijuana and the inmate said yes. Officer Boykins allegedly explained that if the inmate needed something, all he had to do was get his people on the outside to bring the drugs to the jail and he (the officer) would get it to the inmate. According to the report, Boykins gave the inmate six dime bags and the officer was paid $150.00 for each delivery. The inmate alleges that when his visitor would arrive to the inmate’s floor, he or she would signal to the officer that they have a package. The inmate then watched for Officer Boykins to be alone in the control room. Once Boykins was alone, the inmate sends the visitor to the window and that is where the money and drugs are exchanged. Boykins allegedly then handed the pot to the inmate.

Jacksonville police conducted a covert operation to test the inmate’s allegations. The confidential source went to the floor where Boykins worked and allegedly exchanged $150.00 for a bag of contraband. After this transaction, the officer was detained and interviewed. Police say he admitted to moving the drugs.